Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc

I bought this game a while back and was really excited to play it again, but sadly the game doesn't even launch. I feel like I have tried everything to try and fix this issue but nothing works, no idea if it has something to do with Windows 10, but hopefully it will be fixed one day.

Make sure to get "Better Rayman 3" fan patch (find it on pcgamingwiki), it adds more resolutions, widescreen & controller support, & use a controller (I used PS4 controller). Keyboard controls are about as bad as Rayman 2's. Mouse & keyboard controls *could* be fine, if the mouse buttons worked. It's a wonder why the mouse movement works for camera (mostly), but the mouse buttons do nothing, and can't be used. What were they thinking?! Not even Better Rayman 3 adds mouse support. Rayman 3 is generally more linear than 2, but it makes improvements on the gameplay. Except for carrying things. It's actually worse in this game, can't throw them upward & attack, & you move slower. Swimming underwater is dumbed down, the height control is automatic, although you do have infinite breath now, so that's arguably better. The combat is by far one of the most improved things over Rayman 2. It requires you to strafe left & right to curve attacks while evading, and charging attacks when needed. You'll face multiple enemies at once usually, unlike the last game. The combat works pretty decently in this. Bosses are mostly an upgrade over 2, although the first boss kinda sucks, but the rest are fine. The progression is very "temporary powerups", they last a set amount of time, to do stuff like: destroy pillars platforms to jump on, blasting open doors, swinging across hovering hooks, shooting rockets, ascending higher with a helicopter hat, or just destroying foes even faster, etc. Hub world is gone, green lums aren't a thing anymore, Rayman no longer poofs back to checkpoints when touching certain hazards, you don't collect lums anymore, but optional treasures, theres a combo point system that unlocks bonus stuff, etc. Also, there is a bug with the grimace move, a level after I got the ability, red lums would instantly glitch out of existence, not giving health. Would love to see a Rayman 4 someday, that puts the best elements of both Rayman 2 and 3 in it, and then some.

My perspective on this game is going to be slightly skewed because it was my first PS2 game I had when I was a kid. But after playing it again recently I noticed that it's actually a very good game. I think my favourite aspect of the game is the varied gameplay elements. Certain boss fights, level designs and in particular the inter-level psychedelic surfboard seem unique compared to the gameplay of other platformers. I also think the soundtrack is well done and I like the scoring system, though I am at a loss to how the end-of-level star rating works. Yes the humour can feel a bit corny, but you've got to remember who the target audience are in this. I personally prefer it to Rayman 2, which felt slightly more generic and dull, though I can see why people may think the other way. It would get a 5 star on PS2, but I don't think they did a great job with the PC port so that loses it a star from me. Otherwise a great game that I highly recommend.

I remember when I played this game on the original Xbox. I never had beat it but had a lot of fun along the way. I forgot about it until I saw it was up on GOG. The platforming is great! The comments are also hilarious. It may look like the graphics aren't too well; but after you play it for about five minutes you understand that they are just perfect. The minigames are awesome, the boss battles are fun. This game is perfect for both young and old.

Greate game! If you want to make it work on Windows11: 1. Enable Direct Play in Legacy Features 2. Install the game 3. Remove rayman3 folder 4. Verify installation in gog launcher 5. Run the game 6. Exit the game 7. Install Better Rayman3 8. Run the game (Additionaly if you want polish version) 9. Download polish dubbing files 10. Copy the files 11. Run the game Simple as ****. Have a good fun! :D